It was a lively opening full of end to end stuff, with both keepers making several saves, and both sides missing the target with various efforts as well.
The first goal came on 30mins, young Spanish sensation Paco Alcacer putting the away side ahead after Muniain put him through. From there on in, it was all Valencia for the remainder of the first half, although the hosts did have an opportunity from a set piece at the very end of the first half. Unfortunately though, Robert Snodgrass couldnt find the target.
Right at the start of the second half, it was a role reversal for Valencia, as Alcacer put Muniain in to make it 2 - 0. And then on 68, the same Valencia duo combined yet again, as Alcacer notched his 2nd, and Valencia's 3rd of the night.
Then with 5 minutes to play, Munaian yet again put Alcacer in for the youngster to complete his hat-trick, and leave the home fans massively disgruntled already.
Even though it was only a friendly, Parfitt took time out after the game to apologise to the fans for the result.
Parfitt "apologises" to a fan after last nights defeat
It has already proved to be a difficult pre season for Levante. The club had three senior targets in mind, and missed out on the first one when Balazs Dzsudzsak joined Hertha for £14.7m. Levante simply couldnt get close to that figure, and so the deal was lost.
The second target was a young right back playing for a club already in Top 100, but the players current club refused to even entertain a bid for the un-named defender. The club now find themselves locked in a battle with Fenerbache for their third target, Brazillian Conserva Fagner of Corinthians. The player is in talks with both clubs, and a decision should be made within the next 2hrs.
Levante have also missed out on a loan target, with a young midfielder not being allowed to leave his club by the chairman.
Not only have the club been rebuffed in all afforts to bring in first team targets, they have also sold Ibrahima Balde to Olympiacos for £5m.
There has been a couple of small chinks of light though, with the club announcing the signing of 2 17 years olds. Brazillian Matheus Pereira joins from Corinthians, and Mali born Sidiki Maiga came in from AS Korofina. Both players came in for fees of around £300k.
Sidiki Maiga
Levante also confirmed this morning that they expect to unveil former Manchester United full back Guilermo Varella later on this evening. A fee has been agreed with Huddersfield, and the Urugyan should sign a contract at somepoint today.
Whilst Levante are happy to have the three youngsters on board, there is still a long way for them to go to fulfil their undoubted potential. If they do keep their heads down and work hard though, then along with a few of the other current youth's, there could well be a long term future for them at the club.
After last night's defeat in the derby, the division 4 odds were released this morning by Frankbet. The club were less than impressed to see that they are favourites for the drop, and 500/1 outsiders for the league. The Levante chairman has also given the boss very low expectations this season, simply saying that he expects the club to stay up.
Division Four Odds/Table Predictions | |||
CHAMPIONS | Southampton | 1/2 | |
PROMOTED | Genoa CFC | 5/2 | |
PROMOTED | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 4/1 | |
PLAY-OFF | Torino | 4/1 | |
PLAY-OFF | Atalanta BC | 6/1 | |
PLAY-OFF | West Ham United | 9/1 | |
PLAY-OFF | Udinese Calcio | 9/1 | |
SC Internacional | 14/1 | ||
Dynamo Moskva | 20/1 | ||
1. FC Köln | 25/1 | ||
RCD Espanyol |
| ||
Celta Vigo | 40/1 | ||
West Bromwich Albion | 50/1 | ||
Málaga CF | 50/1 | ||
AZ | 50/1 | ||
River Plate | 85/1 | ||
RELEGATED | Montpellier HSC | 100/1 | |
RELEGATED |
| 175/1 | |
RELEGATED | Hellas Verona |
| |
RELEGATED | Levante UD | 500/1 |
Parfitt though is aiming higher, and will be looking at a tactical tweek tonight with the aim of having the team in a position to push for the top 10, and maybe even sneak into the play offs come the business end of the season.
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